Junior US Open champion in 2008; Top 100 stalwart since 2014; two-time Grand Slam semifinalist in 2017. Getting to a career-high No. 16 has been a work in progress for CoCo Vandeweghe, who has taken the punches, put in the work and improved steadily—learning to control both her big-hitting power and her fiery temperament.

“When I started with CoCo, I didn't think that it was going to be the next year or the year after that that she would make her moves. I thought it was three or four years down the road,” says Jan-Michael Gambill, Vandeweghe’s coach from 2011-13.

A few years and a few coaches later, Vandeweghe has made her biggest move. After parting ways with fellow American Craig Kardon at Roland Garros, the 25-year-old brought on former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, and positive results have followed. Asked what she’s improved most with Cash, Vandeweghe said that it’s “harnessing the tenacity that I already have in the right way.”

“I think Pat gives me a very specific goal of what to do with the energy and fire that I do bring to the court,” says Vandeweghe. “I think it's worked very well.”

“Being a fiery athlete is great; I was the same way,” says Gambill, “but at the same time you have to learn how to control it. I think she's got control of that. I think Pat Cash is a compliment to her game.”

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This season, pre- and post-Cash, Vandeweghe has gone from just getting better to also getting it done. The Californian reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open, led the U.S. Fed Cup team to its first final since 2010 (Vandeweghe played a role in all three points of the Americans’ 3-2 semifinal win over three-time defending champion Czech Republic) and most recently reached another final four at a major, in her hometown of New York City.

“She’s gotten more of a growth mindset,” says U.S. Fed Cup captain Kathy Rinaldi. “She's understanding the game more. She's understanding her game—learning about patterns, and learning tactics and strategy. She's really like a sponge. She wants to learn more.”

After years of hard lessons and harder losses, Vandeweghe finally got beyond the second round of her home Slam on her 11th attempt.

“It was great to see her do well in the place where she wanted to do well the most,” says Gambill.

Vandeweghe’s success at the Slams gave her the confidence and ranking points needed to break through to the next echelon of the ranks, the Top 20. But it all started months before Melbourne, and far away from the big stage of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I went into the offseason first time without an injury,” says Vandeweghe. “I was really confident in my fitness. I was confident there. Tennis just kind of followed suit afterwards.”

With her health and fitness taken care of, it was up to Vandeweghe—and her team—to get the most out of her obvious talents. Kardon certainly did his part, helping Vandeweghe reach the semis of a Slam for the first time in Australia. But with Cash, a former world No. 4, 1987 Wimbledon champion and a two-time Australian Open finalist, things couldn’t look more promising for the rest of the season, and beyond.

Their partnership began with a strong surge and an abrupt halt. At their first Slam together, Vandeweghe reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the second time in her career. But once there, she never seriously threatened unseeded Magdalena Rybarikova, losing in straight sets.

“I told her this is the best loss you're ever going to have in your life,” says Cash. “I've got a game plan, let's go and talk about it. We're going to laugh about this in a year’s time. From then we’ve learned so much.”

After crossing the Atlantic and shifting to hard courts, Vandeweghe posted a 9-4 mark, reaching the final in Stanford and the semifinals at the US Open. At Flushing Meadows, Vandeweghe defeated former French Open finalist Lucie Safarova, No. 10 seed Agnieszka Radwanska and world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova before falling to compatriot Madison Keys, 6-1, 6-2.

“We'll do the same thing with the loss to Madison,” says Cash.

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Best Loss Ever: What Coco Vandeweghe and Pat Cash take away from NYC

Best Loss Ever: What Coco Vandeweghe and Pat Cash take away from NYC

Cash says he’s the type of coach that will “get stuck in” to fix and change things to make a player better. When that player has described as a “sponge,” you know it’s a good fit.

“I was just absolutely blown away by [Vandeweghe’s] ability to learn and to be able to fix, and take on board all sorts of information,” says Cash. “Not only that to get it together, but to hold up under pressure and put it together on the biggest center court in the world.”

While Vandeweghe’s big serving and bigger-hitting game style is suited for hard and grass courts, she also reached the quarterfinals on red clay in Madrid this season. It was a result that didn’t go unnoticed by one of her former coaches.

“She was able to show herself that she can play on clay. I think that's going to be a part of the future of CoCo's game,” says Gambill, who now coaches Jared Donaldson. “Her forehand has come light years from where it was. She's hitting it with a lot more spin when sometimes in the past she'd go for the biggest shot in the world. She's just become a lot more mature player.

“It's all these things coming together. I think it's been a pretty brilliant year for her.”

Another element of Vandeweghe’s progress, and another opportunity to add to her career-best season, is Fed Cup. In November, Vandeweghe will lead the United States into Belarus, with the trophy at stake.

“She just loves to represent her country,” says Rinaldi. “[Fed Cup] really means something to her. I think she puts her heart and soul into it. She loves the big stage, and the big stage loves her. She really comes alive.”

Given Vandeweghe's recent play, she’ll be counted on in singles. But earlier this season, when Vandeweghe wasn’t winning many matches at all—she went 1-4 in WTA tournaments between the Australian Open and Madrid—she won all four of her singles rubbers.

“Probably the only good thing that happened there was Fed Cup,” says Vandeweghe. “Having a big victory there against the Czech Republic helped boost me confidence-wise to pushing forward into the clay-court season where it's no secret that's not my favorite place to be.”

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Best Loss Ever: What Coco Vandeweghe and Pat Cash take away from NYC

Best Loss Ever: What Coco Vandeweghe and Pat Cash take away from NYC

The high-pressure team environment of Fed Cup kicked Vandeweghe’s downward spiral into an upward climb, and set the precedent for the next few months—big wins on the biggest stages.

“I think everybody already knows CoCo has the power to match with anybody or blow players off the court. She's shown that,” says Cash. “We're trying to get really a bit more consistency in her game so it holds up in every match.

There’s no reason why there can’t be more deep Grand Slam runs for Vandeweghe in 2018, or titles; she owns just two. Vandeweghe may be at a career-high ranking right now, but she remains a work in progress—something that will stay true no matter how much higher she rises.

“Top 10 or Top 12 would be nice so she's not running into one of the top seeds, but you know it's alright, it's a process,” says Cash. “We're not overly concerned about that. We're just focused on getting better.”

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Best Loss Ever: What Coco Vandeweghe and Pat Cash take away from NYC

Best Loss Ever: What Coco Vandeweghe and Pat Cash take away from NYC

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